The Big Picture

The 1980s was a golden era for horror with classics, iconic villains, and talented filmmakers. Take One: Fear on Film brings together John Carpenter, John Landis, and David Cronenberg to discuss the genre. The TV movie is a must-watch for horror fans, offering an intimate conversation with these legendary filmmakers.

There’s an argument to be made that the 1980s were the best time for horror. Numerous classics were hitting theaters on a regular basis, iconic villains were being introduced left and right, and loads of the genre’s best filmmakers were working at this time. John Carpenter dropped a banger every year of the decade (barring 1985 and 1989), John Landis was busy reinventing his career with the greatest werewolf movie ever made, and David Cronenberg was making audiences terrified of their own bodies. Many more faces had a huge impact on the genre during this decade, but when you think of 80s horror, images from The Thing, An American Werewolf in London, and Videodrome will likely be some of the first to pop up in your head.

Now imagine an instance in which these three could sit down together and talk about their shared genre, all in a conversation that’s led by horror historian, filmmaker, and writer, Mick Garris. Boy, that would be great, wouldn’t it? Well, lucky for you and everyone else on the planet, because this actually happened! In Garris’ TV movie, Take One: Fear on Film, he rounds up Carpenter, Landis, and Cronenberg to talk about all of their works, the state of the genre, whether horror has a negative impact, and more. This is a must-watch for anyone who is a fan of these three filmmakers’ movies, and folks who consider themselves to be genre aficionados. Rarely ever do so many great filmmakers come together to have such an intimate conversation. Soak up the 24 minutes while you’re watching it because it goes by in a flash!

The Thing (1982) A research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims. Release Date June 25, 1982 Rating R Runtime 109 Main Genre Horror Studio Universal

‘Take One: Fear on Film’ Is a Horror Fan’s Dream
When Take One: Fear on Film aired in 1982, Mick Garris was just making a name for himself in the world of horror. He wasn’t quite making all of his Stephen King adaptations yet, and instead, was mostly spending his career taking audiences behind the scenes of all the latest movies. That made him the perfect choice for this particular occasion.

Seated opposite Garris in Fear on Film are three filmmakers who have made some of the best movies of the early 1980s. To his left is John Landis, whose film, An American Werewolf in London, was released a year prior. Landis was coming off of a string of comedies like Animal House and The Kentucky Fried Movie, so his filmography had to be the most diverse out of everyone in the room. Left of Landis is John Carpenter, who had been on a major kick of directing numerous stellar genre films, including Halloween, The Fog, and Escape from New York, and was on the cusp of releasing what is perhaps his best movie, The Thing. Finally, left of Carpenter, you’ll find David Cronenberg, who had also been crafting several horror movies for years by this point. Cronenberg’s films weren’t exactly hits though. His works are most known today for their deeply disturbing images and ideas, heavy themes, and cynical worldviews. While he doesn’t have what most might call “blockbusters” to his name (not in a million years), he probably has the scariest slate of movies under his belt. By ’82, Cronenberg had made Scanners, Shivers, Rabid, and The Brood, and was gearing up for his next picture, Videodrome.

These Four Horror Legends Have an Interesting Dynamic When Put In the Same Room

After Garris introduces each of his guests, he dives into asking Landis why horror films are so popular. Landis struggles to drum up an answer as to why they resonate with audiences, but he hits the nail on the head by making the case that horror has never diminished in its popularity. While Westerns, war movies, and comedies have all come in various waves of popularity, Landis pushes that horror has always been here — it just takes different shapes in different decades. He then ultimately settles on horror movies being really entertaining… at least he hopes. You got that right, Landis!

The floor opens up soon after, and we really get to see what these four are all like around each other. Mick Garris, understandably, seems like he’s trying to keep his cool being surrounded by these three horror titans. In the very best way possible, he kind of has the effect of a teen trying not to geek out too hard while meeting a famous actor. (I would too, Mick, it’s okay!) John Landis, on the other hand, has an uber-confidence about him. He’s cracking jokes left and right, dressed to the nines in a blazer and turtleneck combo, and seems to be doing his best to impress the filmmakers on his left.

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John Carpenter doesn’t bite. He doesn’t even seem to find much joy in anything for the entire 24-minute runtime. Carpenter has always specialized in deeply cynical movies, and he himself seems to be riding that same wavelength. He spends most of the interview being pretty quiet, and when he does give an answer, it’s short and to the point. (Extra points for the Converse that he paired with his button-up and blazer.) Then, on the far right of the screen is David Cronenberg, who’s rocking some enormous and thick-framed glasses, as well as the most 70s haircut in the room. Without knocking the other three, this guy is the intellect in the room. Cronenberg waxes the most over the ethics of horror movies, tries to stop himself from getting “too Freudian” over a topic, and delivers every word with a considered calmness that somehow commands our attention as if he were shouting at the top of his lungs. Who knew that a guy with such terrifying movies to his name would come off as being so sage-like?

Garris, Landis, Carpenter, and Cronenberg Dive Into Fascinating Topics in ‘Take One: Fear on Film’
Image via Nice Guy Productions

From there, Mick Garris guides them through a myriad of discussion points. They wax over the state of government-imposed censorship on horror movies outside of the U.S. (particularly in Canada, where Cronenberg is from), beating X ratings (Landis recalls learning that the ratings boards reflect the times, not just what is in the picture), each filmmaker’s influences (Carpenter loves Howard Hawks’ production of The Thing from Another World, are you shocked?), and how the three felt about their respective works at the time.

Fear on Film is fascinating through and through, but it’s at its best when everyone is remarking on each other’s works and experiences in the industry. Landis is especially vocal about his love for Carpenter and Cronenberg’s films and tries to bridge the gap between everyone the most (aside from Garris, of course). He had read the script for Carpenter’s upcoming remake of The Thing and found Cronenberg’s movies absolutely terrifying. You can tell that he knows he’s lucky, given that he’s typically a comedy director, to sit in on this horror panel alongside two greats.

It’s also fun to hear future classics like The Thing and Videodrome be talked about before hitting theaters. Carpenter’s film is most talked about for its extensive effects work and the way it is supposed to deviate from Hawks’ production. Meanwhile, Videodrome isn’t talked over much beyond its premise (which Landis seems especially stoked by). There’s a moment earlier in the interview when Garris asks Cronenberg how he’d feel about the exploding head in Scanners being the most iconic image in his filmography. He responds by saying that he thinks it would adequately represent his themes and the kinds of movies that he makes, and that he wouldn’t mind it being the defining image of his work… until the next movie. It makes you wonder if he knew that the image of Max Renn (James Woods) sticking his head into a TV would end up becoming that definitive image. If only everyone in the room knew that The Thing and Videodrome were going to be their respective filmmakers’ best movies! Landis’ next film isn’t revealed just yet; they keep that bit on the down low.

40 years later, we’re looking at a slate of horror that is entirely informed by the movies that these three guys made. Horror comedies wouldn’t be what they are without Landis, Carpenter’s atmospheric touch has found itself seeping into the DNA of almost every 80s throwback horror movie, and Cronenberg just might be the first in modern intellectual horror (as well as the preeminent figure in body horror, a popular subgenre). Mick Garris, on the other hand, would be a massive contributor to the Stephen King adaptation machine, as well as a fun horror filmmaker in his own right (not to mention, one of the genre’s biggest champions). Take One: Fear on Film is an absolute treasure — a must-watch for horror fans.

Take One: Fear on Film is available to stream on the Criterion Channel and YouTube.

Watch on Criterion Channel